Page 182 of Villainous Intent

“We believe Dennis might have simply put his faith in the wrong person,” the Council member continued, “and has now paid for it.”

I tried to keep my expression neutral, but Cipher’s face flashed in my mind. I’d been sharing his bed, his space, even small pieces of myself with him. All while keeping my true nature hidden. I pushed the thought away. There was no reason to panic. Cipher didn’t know what I was and whatever had happened to Dennis, it didn’t have anything to do with him.

“What would the Council have us do?” Havoc asked.

The blank mask turned toward him. “Behave as usual. Protect the asset.”

The asset. Me. I suppressed a shudder at being reduced to a resource to be guarded.

“We are aware,” the Council member continued, turning that featureless face back toward me, “that you are hunting a rogue. As of this moment, you are relieved of that duty.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

“Was this necessary?” Havoc asked, his voice controlled but with an edge I recognized as barely contained anger. “Did you come here just to frighten her with this news? You don’t even know why Reeves was killed.”

“Think of it as issuing a reminder, to both of you.” Their tone remained emotionless. “Reeves let his guard down and now he is dead.”

Something snapped inside me. Fear transformed into a white-hot anger that burned through my paralysis.

“No.” Both Havoc and the Council member turned to me.

“If Dennis is dead because he was a Warden, then he wasn’t hidden well enough,” I continued. “And if he’s dead just because someone randomly killed him, then you didn’t do enough to protect him.”

The Council member’s mask tilted slightly, studying me with that unsettling blank face. “We give you freedom to live as you choose. To a degree,” they replied, their voice colder than before. “If you make poor choices, we cannot save you from them. Unless you’d like us to be more aggressive with our asset protection.”

Meaning they would take away my freedom if I didn’t play how they wanted. The life I’d built, the small independence I’d carved out for myself, all of it could vanish with a single word from the Council.

“No. No one, not even the Council, will dictate my life or take it away.” My hands trembled, but I clenched them into fists to hide it. “It’s your fault the Wardens are dead and no one else’s.”

The mask tilted. “It was Halcyon who executed the extinction event, Ms. Bishop. Your memory appears to be failing you.”

“No!” I shouted, surging to my feet. “You’re the ones that tracked all of us, even those who had no idea what we were! My parents, my brother, they didn’t know what they were but died because you didn’t keep us safe.” I was breathing hard now, years of suppressed rage bubbling to the surface. Havoc gave me an alarmed look, but I couldn’t stop.

“You cataloged us like livestock. Watched us from afar without our knowledge or consent. Then acted surprised when Halcyon found your list and started crossing names off.” My voice cracked, but I pushed through. “You will not threaten me.”

The room fell silent.

The Council member stood, the movement unnaturally smooth. Their mask tilted down to regard me.

“Careful, Ms. Bishop,” they said, their voice soft but carrying a dangerous edge. “You greatly overestimate the leeway your value gives you.”

My heart hammered in my chest, but I refused to back down, even as terror of the thing in front of me crawled up my spine. I’d spent too many years being afraid, of Halcyon, of my own powers, of the Council’s shadow looming over my life.

Havoc rose from his chair, his presence filling the room. The air around him shimmered, a warning sign I recognized from years at his side.

“Remember who you’re speaking to, and in front of,” Havoc said, his voice deceptively calm. The barely contained power in his tone made the hairs on my arms stand up. “I was the only one who could have stopped Halcyon, and I did. I gave up everything to protect Annie, and I will continue to do so. Even if I have to protect her from the Council themselves.”

The tension in the room crystallized, becoming almost unbearable. I held my breath, watching the standoff between these two immense powers. Havoc, the Trueborn Super who’d turned from Villain to Hero for my sake, and this faceless member of the shadow government that controlled both sides.

The Council member’s head shifted slightly, their mask somehow conveying disdain despite its featurelessness.

“That is unfortunate,” they said after a long, terrible silence. “Nothing has come to pass that would require us to act. As I said, Reeves may have simply put his trust in the wrong person.”

My shoulders tightened at their words, my fingernails digging into my palms. The Council member took a single, deliberate step toward me, and it took everything I had not to back away.

“Are you certain, Ms. Bishop,” they asked, their mask tilted in false curiosity, “that you’ve put your faith in the correct person?”

My throat went dry. I couldn’t form words, couldn’t push them past the knot of fear that had lodged itself in my chest. Did they know about my arrangement with Cipher?